Fish Chowder with Corn and Bacon

This past weekend I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, mostly making lunches for during the week. Here is a little tasting of most of the things I made

Clockwise: Hoisin Eggplant and Tofu, Dry-Fried String Beans, Brown Rice 

and Plantains, Fish Chowder with Corn and Bacon, Whole Wheat Bread

Everything was good, but the Hoisin Eggplant and Tofu and the Fish Chowder with Corn and Bacon were the standouts of the group. Below I've provided the recipe for the chowder.


Fish Chowder with Corn and Bacon

Yields 4 (1/2 cup) servings


Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, diced into 1/2 inch pieces

2 medium shallots, finely diced

1/4 medium onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

5 new potatoes, peeled, diced into 1/2-inch cubes

2 T whole wheat flour

1 C sweet corn kernels

2 C chicken broth

1/2 lb halibut pieces

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

Put a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat. When the pan has warmed, add the bacon pieces, stirring around to prevent them from burning. When the fat has completely rendered from the bacon, remove the bacon and reserve. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan and let it sweat. When the shallot is translucent, add the potatoes and the sliced onions. Cover the pan and let it cook until the onions and potatoes are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the pan and let it sit with the onion and potato and thicken for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the corn and chicken broth and let it cook over low heat until it begines to thicken. Add the halibut pieces and the bacon and continue cooking until the fish is completely cooked through. Add salt and ground pepper, seasoning to taste.


When serving, add 1-2 tablespoons of water per serving, if you find it to be a little too thick, then add 1 tablespoon of creme fraiche to each bowl of chowder. Stir to combine, top with freshly ground pepper, and enjoy.

Gnocchi with Bacon, Spinach, Vodka Cream Sauce

I know there has been a lack of posting recently. I went home for the weekend to watch Georgetown's ultimate team, Catholic Justice, play at sectionals in Princeton. Despite one team trying to murder their players (Jacob ended up with stitches and a broken nose instead), they played hard and ended their season on a high note.

Back to our feature programming. I bought some gnocchi about a month ago, when I was on one of my trader joe's grocery shopping binges, but hadn't had a chance to cook it. Last night I decided it would be quick and easy to do a pasta dinner. So I fried up some bacon, browned some almonds, dethawed some spinach, mixed some sauces together and came up with a pretty good gnocchi dish. Mike ended up just eating cappelini pasta, with red sauce and bacon crummbled on top, but I'm going to give you the recipe for my dinner instead.

Ingredients:
1 package of Gnocchi (about 3-4 cups)
4 strips bacon
1/4 C almonds
1/2 cup frozen spinach
1/2 C vodka sauce
1/2 C Alfredo Sauce

Method:
1. Put the gnocchi in a pot of boiling, salted water. When the gnocchi rise to the top, boil for 2 more minutes, then set aside.
2. In a frying pan, fry the strips of bacon. When the bacon is done, drain of the oil and cut into large pieces. In the same pan, brown the almonds. When the almonds are browned, add the frozen spinach and cook for 3 minutes.
3. In a sauce pan, add the vodka sauce, alfredo sauce, bacon, almonds and spinach. When the sauce begins to simmer, take off the heat, and serve with the gnocchi.


This recipes is easy enough because you don't have to go through the effort of making your own sauce (which I was originally planning on doing with some sundried tomatoes and cream). Not to mention, it can be vegetarian safe by not adding the bacon. I'm sure it would be good, in terms of flavor and color, with some asparagus or peas. Point is, you can amend the recipe given what you have in your pantry at time, but for now, this is a good, quick and cheap baseline.